Rebirth of The Deer and the Cauldron, Wei Xiaobao Becomes a God

"That's right. The Huashan Sect was founded as early as the Qin and Han Dynasties. After two thousand years of vicissitudes, it is the birthplace of Taoism and has a profound and unfathomable heritage. During this period, there were also people from the immortal cultivation world who passed down various mysterious methods of cultivation, which are truly incomparable." He Ti Shou said in an affirmative tone.

After hearing this, Wei Xiaobao secretly decided that he would find an opportunity to visit his master after the suppression of the Japanese pirates was over. At this time, Mao Shiba stepped forward and reported to Wei Xiaobao the plan to exchange grain for copper with the Tokugawa shogunate.

Wei Xiaobao had originally planned to go to Kyoto with Princess Lingzhao to meet his brother, the Emperor. When he heard this plan, he immediately came up with an idea and took the initiative to request to arrive in Edo with the grain transport fleet and then go to Kyoto.

Seeing this, Su Quan and He Ti Shou also expressed their willingness to go with him. Although they said they wanted to experience the customs and practices of a foreign country, they were actually worried about Xiao Bao's safety, so they used this as an excuse to accompany him.

Wei Xiaobao was naturally very happy to have two powerful grand masters by his side.

The next morning, the sun shone on the sparkling sea. Battleship No. 101, carrying the treasure ship loaded with the Iwami Ten Thousand Army, rushed towards Iwami Ban County like an arrow.

At the same time, Wei Xiaobao and his party boarded Ship No. 102 and the treasure ship responsible for transporting grain and headed towards Edo.

The huge Dragon was stationed quietly in Osumi, like an indestructible fortress.

Time passed quickly, and eight days later the exciting moment finally arrived - Ship No. 102 and the grain-carrying treasure ship arrived in Edo.

From afar, one could see two huge ships flying the bright and eye-catching Yellow Dragon flag of the Qing Dynasty. The flag fluttered in the wind, as if announcing their arrival to the world.

When these two behemoths slowly sailed into the Edo port, they immediately caused an unprecedented sensation.

Local residents poured into the streets, staring with wide eyes and astonishment at these mysterious visitors from afar. Such a huge and magnificent treasure ship was beyond their imagination and was breathtaking!

Then, according to the pre-planned arrangement, a special person was sent to negotiate with the relevant personnel of the Tokugawa shogunate to exchange grain for copper mines. Since the Japanese country's annual grain supply was tight, they would naturally not refuse such a deal. The two sides hit it off and the entire exchange process was extremely smooth.

After obtaining a sufficient amount of copper ore, Mao Shiba led the fleet back to Osumi to wait for Ship No. 101 to return from Iwami County.

At that time, the treasure ship loaded with 101 tons of copper ore will follow closely and set out on the return journey to Ryukyu with Ship No. .

Mao Shiba led the 102 ships on their way back to Edo to welcome Wei Xiaobao back. At the same time, Wei Xiaobao and his companions - Su Quan, Shuang'er, Ling Zhao, He Ti Shou, and Princess Ling Zhao's four maids - left the Edo dock and arrived in the city smoothly.

Edo was once just a small fishing village with less than a hundred households, but after Tokugawa Ieyasu became the shogun in 1603 and established this place as the center of his rule, Edo Castle began to flourish. Now, in the 1674th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi (), after seventy years of changes, Edo has evolved into a prosperous city with a population of nearly .

Wei Xiaobao and his companions found a large inn in Edo City to rest. In addition to providing accommodation services, this inn also has a restaurant.

Interestingly, the restaurant style in Japan is very different from that in the Qing Dynasty. There is neither a spacious lobby for diners to dine, nor the common benches, tables and chairs. Instead, there are small tatami-style rooms full of exotic style, with only a small square table in each room.

The Japanese eat and meet guests on their knees. It is said that when Xu Fu sailed to Japan, he passed on the sitting position of the northerners in the Qin Dynasty to the uncivilized Japanese. However, the tradition was slightly changed from sitting to kneeling.

Wei Xiaobao, Su Quan, Shuang'er and He Tishou, who were not used to kneeling, sat directly on the floor after entering the tatami room.

Princess Lingzhao sent her maid to order food, including some Japanese specialties such as salmon and sushi.

The partition of this tatami room was made of window paper, which had no soundproofing effect at all. While everyone was enjoying the food, they suddenly heard a conversation coming from the next room.

"Yamada-kun, have you heard about the disappearance of Osumi's navy? No matter how hard we try, we can't get in touch with them!"

"Hojo-kun, the news I received is not just a simple loss of contact. In fact, the Osumi navy has been completely annihilated."

"What? Yamada-kun, who on earth is this person who has such great power?"

"Hojo-kun, according to rumors, it seems that the daimyo Takagi Sangoku of Osumi County betrayed us and led his men to wipe out the Osumi navy in one fell swoop."

"Takagi, is it the Takagi who went to reinforce Ryukyu?" the person who spoke asked with a look of surprise on his face.

"Yes, it's this person. All the soldiers sent by the Tokugawa shogunate died in Ryukyu, and he was the only one who came back alive." The other person nodded and replied affirmatively.

"Mr. Yamada, wasn't there a rumor before that the Qing Dynasty sent troops to launch a surprise attack on our Japanese expeditionary force stationed in Ryukyu?" The man called Hojo asked in confusion, frowning.

"Hojo-kun, the matter has been investigated clearly. It was not the Qing Dynasty that was against our Great Japan in Ryukyu, but a bandit force called the Tenchi Revolutionary Army." Yamada-kun explained, shaking his head slightly.

"I see, no wonder! Today I heard that a giant Qing ship came to the alley, and they wanted to exchange food for bronze. When I first heard the news, I felt very strange, thinking that since the two countries were already at war, how could there be trade between them? But then again, can a bandit force alone really resist the 200,000-strong army of our great Japan?" Hojo Jun said with some disbelief.

"How could the bandits be so capable! The news I got from the shogunate is that the troops sent to Ryukyu by the Uesugi, Oda, Takeda and some other scattered large families betrayed the Tokugawa shogunate, colluded with bandit forces, and together they destroyed the 50,000-strong army of the Tokugawa family." Mr. Yamada lowered his voice and revealed this shocking inside story with a serious expression.

"Ah! Did our Hojo family rebel?" someone asked suspiciously.

"There was no rebellion. It is said that they all died in the battlefield." The other person answered in a heavy tone.

"Our Hojo family is loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate!" the first person shouted indignantly.

"I also heard that the Tokugawa shogunate has been recruiting soldiers everywhere recently. They have deployed a large number of troops on the borders of the Oda, Takeda, and Uesugi families." The second person continued.

"That's right. Although he knew that Osumi Takagi had rebelled, he did not go to fight him. I guess it's because the pressure he was under was too great." The first person nodded thoughtfully.